Let me ask you a question. After 13 years of Labour, what do you think has happened to morale in the public sector? More than a decade of pay rises and funding increases must surely have increased worker satisfaction, right? Wrong. Morale has actually fallen, with 40% of public sector workers saying that morale is low in their organisation, compared to only 16% in the private sector. This dissatisfaction is also reflected in the statistics on sick leave, where the average public sector worker now takes 10 days of absence per year, compared to six days in the private sector. We can't go on like this.

Of course, we all understand that Labour's debt crisis means there will have to be some tough decisions ahead. For example, I've said that we need to freeze public sector pay for a year for all but the million lowest-paid workers, and we have to take action to cap the very biggest public sector pensions. Yes, these steps will help us to protect more jobs throughout the public sector – but the tough spending situation doesn't mean that we can't also do much more to value our dedicated public sector workers. That's why the Conservative party is today publishing our manifesto for public sector workers, which sets out an ambitious agenda to protect the frontline and promote wellbeing. You can find the full manifesto on our party website, but let me briefly explain what this will mean in practice.

First, a Conservative government will extend the statutory right to request flexible working to all five million public sector workers. This radical step will help more government employees to achieve a better work-life balance and gain more control over their lives. As we've seen with companies such as BT and Asda, where the majority of employees are now working flexibly, this will particularly benefit women, older people and employees with health conditions.

Second, we will deliver fairer pay. Labour plans to introduce a rise in national insurance from next April – a tax on working people that will cost the public sector £690m a year, threatening thousands of jobs. We will stop this tax rise, protecting jobs and ensuring that people across the public sector will be better off than under Labour's plans. Workers in the NHS, teaching, police and all other services would save up to £150 a year.

Third, we will trust in the professionalism of public sector workers. We will cut back on all the government checks, targets, inspections and procedural reporting that consumes so much time. Public servants will instead be accountable for the outcomes they deliver, not the processes they follow, giving them much more freedom at the frontline.

Fourth, we will create a new professional culture throughout public service, where you will at last be rewarded for innovation and going that extra mile. It means, for example, freeing schools to pay teachers more for high achievement, and more payment according to outcomes in hospitals and Sure Start centres, and a more professional civil service. If staff get really good outcomes for the people they serve, we believe they should benefit too.

The Conservatives are on the side of Britain's public servants. Public service is at the heart of our vision of a big society – and central to our ambitions for a stronger and fairer Britain.